Into the Darkest Shadows
by ZombieLycan
Summary: A retelling of my original fanfic, Bleak. The actions of the humans to ensure security against the immortals are morally questioned as to whether or not both humans and immortals can co-exist. A debate that is challenged a mysterious force that wishes to create a utopian society without mortals.
1. Musician

**A/N: This is a restart to the fanfic that I was originally writing called, _Bleak, _before I decided not to continue doing it anymore due to lack of motivation. I felt that my original story felt like a meh-ish start and decided to rework it from scratch. I'll keep _Bleak_ up there for audience's interest and a reference point. Hope you guys enjoy. :)  
**

**EDIT: I decided to make a couple of minor changes to keep things consistent with the upcoming second chapter.**

* * *

I remember the Cleansing as if it were yesterday.

_Chapter 1: Musician  
__November 17th, 2012, 8:31 PM  
London, England  
Mathieu Walker's POV_

I was only sixteen at the time. I hung out with my older brother, Tim Walker, at an isolated cliffside near London. We spent our nights hanging around in and out of our BMW, smoking cigarettes, listening to Slayer on our car stereo, and talking about our days.

"Do you believe in supernatural forces?" I brought up to Tim, lighting up my cigarette.

Tim smiled. "Well, being a history major, somewhat because of ancient legends and odd coincidences and incidents around the world."

"I'm saying this because I was walking on my way to school and saw some guy fuckin' kick a hole in a building," I explained. "Just check it out." I showed him a picture of the hole in the wall that I took with my iPhone.

"Looked like something the Hulk would do," Tim commented. "You sure that this came from a human being?"

"I saw it with my own eyes," I expressed. "Not just that, but I heard in the news that five cop cars were sent to his house and arrested him for vandalism."

Just as Tim lit another cigarette, a police car showed up on the hill and stopped near us. Both of us were a bit freaked out, thinking we did something wrong, although both of us haven't done anything significant other than a couple of speeding tickets. "You two shouldn't be staying here," the officer said after getting out of the car.

"What do you mean?" Tim questioned. "We always hang out here!"

"You won't be anymore," the officer said with a stern tone. "Marital law is now in effect as of twenty minutes ago."

"Wait, martial law-?"

"I'm going to have to take you two to the police station to check on any abnormalities you two might possess." I was freaking out. Assuming that the officer was talking about that person that blew that huge hole in that building, he knows that there was something unnatural going on in both him and possibly others.

His sentence was cut off when a deranged man bit deep into his neck. Both of us shivered at the sight as the officer dropped dead; the man bore a leather coat, torn jeans, and a bloody white t-shirt. His long hair was greasy and his skin was pale. His menacing, demented look was scary, but there were two things that particularly stuck out; the glowing blue irises and the bloody, sharp fangs.

I felt like I was watching a horror film, only that Tim and I were actually characters in it rather than members of the audience. There's no doubt that there are freaks like him roaming among the population. I wondered how we were going to live our lives with them under our skin, let alone survive an attack from that monster.

He lunged toward us at a frightening speed, lusting for his blood. Tim grabbed the monster by both his right arm and chest to stop him from killing us. Thanks to his time in the SAS (Special Air Service), he was able to fend him off for at least a limited time. He knew he could not hold on for long, however, and told me to "get the gun!" from the car. I grabbed his vintage S&M Schofield Model 3 .45 revolver, but by the time I loaded the rounds, it was too late. Tim was bitten by the neck. "No!" I screamed, shooting three rounds at the monster's jaw, neck, and shoulder. He retreated into the shadows before more shots were fired.

Tim collapsed to the ground, hyperventilating from his wound; his skin becoming pale and anemic and bleeding profusely from the neck; losing consciousness. "Shit," I gasped at the sight of his almost ethereal presence. I took off my t-shirt and tied it to Tim's wound. "Brother, you're gonna be alright. You've gone through much worse than this."

And he had been, as I recalled a car accident earlier in our childhoods that killed our parents, but spared Tim despite having severe injuries. He was the only family I had and seeing him hurt like that made me very fearful of losing him.

I put him in the car and drove recklessly to the nearest hospital, much faster than what the speed limits of the roads were. While heading there, I noticed police officers and military forces rounding up and executing people who were apparently monsters either with silver or ultraviolet weaponry.

Tim regained consciousness. "Mathieu, we can't go to the hospital," he shouted.

"You'll die if we don't!" I retorted.

"Look at this!" Tim showed me his neck, which had quickly healed in a matter of minutes, despite such a wound. "I'm one of those fucking freaks! I saw some of the shit out the windows; they'll fucking kill me!"

At that point, there was no need to take Tim to the hospital after he had become one of them. "Alright, I'm gonna get us out of the city! You'll be alright!"

As we heading for the freeway, we saw a heavy blockade of military forces in the tunnel, forcing me to make an abrupt stop. "Fuck," Tim gasped. "You should've just rammed the car through! What the fuck, Mathieu?"

"The roadblock's too heavy!" I screamed back. Even if it was a lighter blockade, I would have stopped anyway from pure instinct. Part of me wished I just drove through.

"Get out of the car," one of the soldiers ordered us to do with his voice amplified by his megaphone.

We were shaking, but Tim was easily the one that was most nervous with his affliction. He knew that he was going to die that night. And he snapped. "Fuck you!" he screamed, charging at the soldiers only to get peppered by machine gun fire.

"Tim!" I screamed, rushing toward his body, now burning internally from the many ultraviolet bullets that pierced him.

"I'm not...that..." Tim murmured weakly, almost incomprehensibly before he succumbed to his injuries.

"Fuck! No! Tim!" I cried out to the lifeless, charred remains of my brother. The only family I had.

The leader of the blockade ordered his soldiers to hold their fire and approached me slowly. He sprayed silver nitrate gas at me, then shined an ultraviolet light at my face, thinking that I was one of those monsters. "Why did you do this to him?" I growled at him. "What the fuck?"

"If he continued to live, like most of these biological threats, he would have compromised your safety and turned you into one of his kind," he replied. "They are far too dangerous to be kept alive; they rely on human flesh and blood for food."

"I wanted to help him!" I shouted.

"Your brother could never be saved!" the leader shouted. "Once a non-human, always a non-human. There is no cure. These threats cannot co-exist because of their need to kill to stay alive. Since you are clear of any infection, we're going to have to take you home. Because of your naivety and how recent this outbreak occurred, we will clear you of charges of being an accomplice to a biological threat for now. It's best not to interact with any of these monsters, whether or not they are your friends or family. Consider my words a fair, but final warning."

As a lesser police officer took me home in his squad car, I wrestled with frustration over my brother's death. Even when the soldiers had a justified reason for killing him, I really didn't want him to die. At the very least, they could have restrained him and locked him up in a heavy cell.

As much as I absolutely hated what they did, I ultimately had to agree with their actions. Perhaps for the greater good of man, by cleaning out these "biological threats," that those who are not infected would be saved.

And the one that bit Tim. With every fiber of my being, I absolutely hate him for spreading his affliction to other innocent lives, including Tim. If I ever see him again, I will kill him.

* * *

_October 1st, 2024, 8:00 PM  
Budapest, Hungary_

Following the years after the death of my brother, I decided to become a soldier in the SAS like he was to lessen the insecurities of living with these monsters (who are now labeled as vampires and Lycans, as characterized by mythology). Due to my exceptional skills three years into my time with the SAS, I was personally selected by General Albert Fisher to join SIAF (Special Immortal Activities Forces): a special operations force that is tasked for vital missions that prevent catastrophe, especially at the hands of these immortals. I served as the second-in-command of the 66th Squad under the codename, "Musician" with Larry "Reaper" Garza taking command.

In the wake of two test subjects escaping the Antigen headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, we were originally sent to extract Dr. Jacob Lane, the head of Antigen. Of course, by the time we arrived, it was too late.


	2. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

In the blink of an eye, everything has changed. I was merely a Death Dealer, trained to hunt down and kill the last of the Lycans. But now, the tides have changed. We were now becoming the hunted. How long will it be until the cycle reverses yet again, let alone end?

_Chapter 2: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back  
October 1st, 2024, 11:10 PM  
Budapest, Hungary  
Selene's POV_

David, Eve, and I continued painstakingly searching almost every corner of the city for Michael's whereabouts. In a large city with a population of 1.7 million, we decided to split up in the interest of time with David and Eve searching the area west of the Danube river while I searched eastward. I decided to have David accompany Eve, not wanting her to get lost or taken by the Lycans again. The thought of losing Michael again brought anxiety to my heart, but having something bad happen to my daughter would downright crush it. I trust David's intuition that he could do no harm to her.

Twenty-one hours had passed since I had awakened from my twelve year slumber. It's hard to keep track of all that had happened over my absence; the laws and changes that the world's governments have enforced against both vampires and Lycans; what species is dominating the war; whether there is any remnant covens left in the world; where Michael, Eve, and I stand in the middle of all of this. I'm pretty sure that Michael's thinking about this more than I am.

I've thought about escaping the war and leaving everything else behind after we find Michael, but I know that, at this point, nowhere is safe. And I know that we will have to fight hard against what will come in the future.

"I have not seen any visions from him, Mother," Eve reported to me via headset, "since we left the Antigen labs." That was four hours ago since we had killed both Quint and Jacob Lane.

"I'm not hearing any leads from the police scanner," David added. "His first instinct would be to feed on a human. All other reports seem to be unrelated."

It was strange, indeed. Having been frozen cryogenically myself, he would have been at least noticed by the authorities even more so than I had been. He was not the kind to be stealthy either. If he was able to also see visions through Eve's eyes, he would have tried to find us as well.

After twenty minutes of searching, David called, "Selene, Eve and I are calling it," breathing heavily as if he was a mortal finishing a marathon. "We've looked everywhere in the city and I'm pretty sure that wherever Michael is, he's probably either out of the city or hiding pretty damn well for someone who just woke up from cryogenic slumber."

I let out a heavy sigh. Even I was tired, but I was still willing to continue the search. "You two should head back to the safehouse."

"And you?"

"I'm going to search further." Even if Michael was unreachable, I still hung on to whatever chance that I could find him. "At least finding a lead."

"You should get some rest too," David commented. "Just don't hurt yourself too much," he ended with a concerned tone.

* * *

_11:25 PM  
Budapest, Hungary  
Lt. Mathieu "Musician" Walker's POV_

Just a day earlier, we had just finished a mission where we had cracked down on a large coven of vampires in Britain that threatened to use a tactical nuke in London. Seems like every time we are closer to stopping extreme immortal activities, another thing happens immediately afterwards.

When we arrived at Antigen HQ, Jacob Lane was found murdered by the two test subjects along with many officers that tried to take the two down. General Fisher had then ordered us to follow the two subjects, including a third that had no involvement in the incident. He discouraged us from engaging in any activity that would attract attention towards us.

Antigen had given us some information on the three test subjects including their names and species. What the three had in common were that all of them inherited the Corvinus strain: a special trait that makes an immortal immune to both ultraviolet light and silver, and stronger than an average immortal. We were unfortunately given limited amount of information on the situation due to the chaos of losing Antigen's founder, so we were forced to use our own means of following the three test subjects. We both split up with Reaper patrolling the west side of Budapest while I patrolled the east.

Being soldiers in SIAF, we gained access to some of the most state-of-the-art military technology that has yet to be mass-produced for use in other military units. We used a specially designed military tablet with an application that monitored every single square of the city via a satellite scan. The app can also scan through solid concrete, scan for thermal energy, and even scanning the movement of animate objects that have much lower body temperature compared to a regular human. In other words, we could easily see who is a immortal and who is simply a human. I swear that if Antigen or other military forces had access to this technology, both vampires and Lycans would quickly become extinct in a couple of months.

"Found one of them," Reaper reported, calling me through my earpiece. "It's Subject 2, who's accompanied by an older immortal." It was not long until I found Subject 1 on my side of the city. As General Fisher ordered, we were not allowed to engage in any form of combat unless they conspire to plot a serious crime. In fact, many of SIAF's missions discouraged the killings of random immortals unrelated to the mission. Being elite soldiers, it's not in our character to bully the weaklings - that's the job of the lesser military forces after all.

"Looks like they use telecommunications as well," I observed. "I'm going to try to copy what frequency they use." I'm sure that our subjects use a hidden frequency that most agencies cannot tap into, but with SIAF technology, we quickly intercepted their transmission.

"-should go back to the safehouse," I heard the voice of Subject 1.

"And you?"

"I'm going to search further. At least find a lead."

"You should get some rest too. Just don't hurt yourself."

"Looks like Subject 2 and her companion are heading out of the city," Reaper observed. "Subject 0 is still at large, so keep track of Subject 1. She might even lead us to him."

"Copy that."

* * *

_October 2nd, 2024, 12:10 AM  
A Safehouse Five Miles from Budapest, Hungary  
Eve's POV_

Even though we have been together for just a day, I felt worried about my mother. Even David, who would fight and die rather than surrender, was concerned for her. It's not because she partakes in such reckless tasks and actions, but that she was very agitated when it came to searching for my father.

Extremely exhausted from the last fight, I could only do so much but lay myself in bed to recover. David brought his police scanner and started recording it on a flash drive as we rested.

I hope Mother doesn't get herself killed. After being literally raised and tested in a lab for twelve years, she truly cared for my safety, unlike the false sense of care that the nurses and scientists showed.

* * *

_12:25 AM  
Antigen HQ  
Selene's POV_

After finding literally nothing for hours on end, I decided to go back to the Antigen headquarters to follow whatever steps Michael took. Knowing that there are more humans and undercover Lycans guarding the place after our fight there, it would be a bad idea to run into the place with guns blazing on my own (although that was my preferred method during my Death Dealer days).

I observed my surroundings from the rooftops, which was where Eve had last spotted Michael. Assuming that he jumped, there should have been some damage or mark from landing on either the ground or the shorter buildings that surrounded the headquarters. There were not any. Either Michael had learned how to fly or he somehow disappeared out of thin air.

And then, literally in the blink of an eye, I saw a hooded silhouette of a man, shrouded in black robes standing eighty meters ahead of me, staring at the view. "Michael?" I called out to the figure, to which he never responded. "Michael?" I repeated once more, but to no avail. At that point, I knew that he was not Michael and likely not a soldier from Antigen. "Who are you?" I grabbed his shoulder, only for him to dissolve into a black gas that blinded my sight.

* * *

_12:54 AM  
Mathieu's POV_

"What the fuck...?" I shouted at my tablet, seeing an unknown figure dissolve into a black gas, then disappearing with Subject 1.

"Musician, report!" Reaper said.

"You won't believe this, but Subject 1 literally disappeared from plain sight with some other contact," I replied. "The scanner's not showing shit right now. Something else is going on and I know it's not the Corvinus guys. I'm sending you the satellite feed."

* * *

_Selene's POV_

When the gas dissolved, I saw Budapest in both flames and ruins.

"What the fuck?" I felt like I was staring at the sight of the apocalypse as buildings around me crumbled into dust. The sky was blood red and so bright, I could almost go blind. I soon started coughing heavily from the burning, dust-filled atmosphere. Looking behind me, I saw a giant mushroom cloud caused by a nuclear explosion.

I collapsed on my knees and started coughing blood from the radiation. My skin began to char as if I was vulnerable to sunlight again before I drank the blood of Alexander Corvinus.

I tilted my head up and saw the cloaked figure again on the same rooftop. My first instinct was to make him to blame for destroying Budapest. "You!" I called out, pointing my Beretta 92FS at him. "You caused all of this!" I fired an entire clip into him but not before he dissipated into a black gas once more, which quickly surrounded me once more. I blacked out.

* * *

_Mathieu's POV_

"I've been in SIAF longer than you have and I haven't seen anything like this," Reaper replied to me. "Seems like we're uncovering something bigger than we have already seen."

I've felt uneasy too. I could easily shrug it off as something that is no more of a danger than what our world is going through at the moment. Still, even with the extensive research we made on both the vampires and Lycans, we have yet to fully know the true scope of how dangerous they could become.

* * *

_7:30 AM  
Unknown location  
Selene's POV_

I thought I fell dead either from the radiation poisoning or by whoever that shadowy figure was. But the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of some woodland area, probably around the Budapest area; hopefully not teleported halfway across the world.

Everything remained as it was before. The rising dawn emitted a beautiful, slowly brightening blue sky; the air was fresh; and I was unscathed and healthy, despite the anxiety of seeing such a horrible vision.

I could not tell if the vision I was shown was just a dream; it felt all too real and vivid to forget. I also wonder if that person in the black robes showed it to warn me about what the future will hold. And it is scary to me that this could possibly happen if the war goes out of control.

"Hey, ma'am, you okay?" a passerby asked me from behind. I turned my head to face him and he instantly recognized me. "You...you're one of those freaks!" he shouted, pointing his shotgun at me at close range.

Just as he fired at me (thankfully missing), he was pummeled to the ground by a grey-skinned beast.

I instantly recognized him. "Michael..."

"Get this thing off of me!" the human whimpered in fear, but Michael kept growling at him, keeping the pressure of his hands on his shoulders.

"Michael, let him go!" I shouted at him only to see him relentlessly bite into the poor guy's neck. I was forced to push him off to the side. But that was not enough to tame his hybrid form as he lunged toward me. I elbowed him in the abdomen, knocking him into a tree, which collapsed onto him.

Michael reverted back to his human form, stunned from my attack. I turned to the human, who was not moving, and checked his pulse. _Shit._ This was one of the reasons why we did not want the humans to get involved in our war and seeing an innocent bystander die by our hands set a bad example of how we're better than killing off humans.

I removed the wood that had nearly crushed Michael. "Selene," he said. I wanted to hold Michael in my arms when I had finally found him. After what he just did to that human, this wasn't a good way to reunite.

"Sorry about that, Michael," I said as I continued removing pieces of wood from him, "but you didn't have to kill that guy."

Michael felt absolutely out of it. "I-I didn't know what I was thinking. I just saw you get attacked and I just lost control."

"That's fine, but just don't lose control on me again," I told him as I helped him up.

"What the fuck happened?" he asked me. "All I remember is waiting for you at the docks, then getting pushed into the water. Next thing I knew, I was in some lab and then I woke up here."

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I then explained what went on. "You were cryogenically frozen in a lab for twelve years." Michael's eyes widened. "Once you broke out, we saw you on the roof of that building. We were trying to find you, but you suddenly disappeared." As I explained things to him, I was reminded of our initial conversations, explaining the war between the vampires and Lycans while driving him to a safehouse. Seeing Michael lose control of his powers and his confusion made me feel like our relationship almost reverted back to square one.

"'We'?"

"We have an allied vampire named David, and your daughter, Eve," I filled in the remaining gaps.

Realizing that he is a now a father made him even more dumbfounded. "Oh my god." He smiled, but I couldn't tell if he was feeling happy or stressed at the news. "That's...that's wonderful. Where is she?"

"I told her and David to stay at a safehouse," I explained. "We should head there and lay low for now."

Michael looked back at the man that he had slain, then looked back at me remorsefully. "I'm sorry about what happened to that guy there." He sounded absolutely honest in his apology as if he feared that our bond was falling apart. "Just being frozen for so long and waking up like this..."

Michael paused for a bit to catch his breath, before I told him, "It's not your fault." Though I was initially appalled at Michael's behavior, I was quick to realize the circumstances that surrounded his actions. I've done such an act after being frozen myself, going on a relentless killing spree to find him.

For the first time in twelve years, I held Michael in my arms. As the sun truly started to rise, I was reminded of when we were at William Corvinus's prison. Seeing myself exposed to the sunlight for the first time in six centuries without burning; the kisses we shared on the bridge. It was at that time when I realized how much we needed each other in this endless war we were still caught in. Now that we had a daughter, Eve, and an ally, David, this realization was further reinforced.

Suddenly, my earpiece transmitted a message from David. "Selene, are you there? We haven't heard from you in the last five hours."

I transmitted the following message back. "Eve, David, I've found Michael. We're at some part of woods, hopefully not so far from where you are at. We're heading back to your location."

"Take care, Mother," Eve said. "I'm excited to see Father for the first time."

Michael overheard our conversation, then spoke to the microphone, "Hope to see you too, my daughter."

"Listen," I said. "There are some things I just need to tell you. I'll explain when I get to the safehouse."

* * *

_Eve's POV_

I was ecstatic to hear Father's voice for the first time. Even though the transmission was slightly distorted, I knew from the tone that he seemed delighted to hear that I'm his daughter, albeit quite nervous like a fan seeing a famous rock artist of his favorite band in person.

Things are really going in the right direction. Still, Mother seemed a bit uneasy despite finding my father. Something else was stressing her out.

* * *

**A/N: I appreciate some comments and concerns and I hope you get at least a bit of enjoyment in this fic!**


	3. Ephemeral

_"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." - __Friedrich Nietzsche _

_Chapter 3: Ephemeral  
October 2nd, 2024, 7:37 AM  
Rosethorn Trails  
Mathieu's POV_

Subject 1's sudden reappearance on the radar led us to Rosethorn Trails, a woodland area twelve miles North from Budapest. There's a large set of trails that extend into Slovakia and Poland before ending on the Baltic Sea.

According to the last satellite feed, Subject 1 was also accompanied by Subject 0, who also reappeared in this location.

"I know this place well," Reaper told me. "Four years ago, before you served as my second-in-command, I was sent here with former SIAF Lieutenant Jax "Kingmaker" McKellan to capture a group of Lycans that escaped from both the law and Antigen. They were last seen here in Rosethorn Trails and we patrolled here to find any leads on them, especially considering that the leader of the pack was a very key member." He paused. "We never captured even one Lycan. Still, rumor has it that they are still around the area."

"Perhaps you will get them one day," I chuckled.

"But there was one thing that really bothered me," Reaper said in an ironically stoic tone. "I blacked out during the mission and the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital."

"And Kingmaker?"

"I don't know," Reaper replied. "I've never seen him since the mission; he was later declared MIA. He might be either dead or even with the Lycans by now."

Reaper seemed unusually calm for bringing up such a pretty fucked up story. I know that he was a very experienced soldier, but even to some of my closest friends, I would feel uncomfortable and emotional telling about my own tragic past on how my brother was executed in front of my eyes. Reaper though, he was damn near as stoic, even cold-sounding as a text-to-speech voice from a computer.

Almost as cold as a vampire.

Though I was with a different SIAF squad when Reaper was on his mission, I felt like I was going to end up like Kingmaker. "You shouldn't worry," Reaper said, trying his hardest to keep himself from freaking out. "We're SIAF soldiers and what happened was out of character for us."

"Looks like we're near Subjects 1 and 0," I reported, trying to calm my own nerves.

"Copy that. Musician, switch your cloak to invisible mode."

* * *

_Selene's POV_

"By the way, Michael, what happened when you were on the roof of Antigen's headquarters?" I asked as we walked back towards the city. Since the last time Eve, David, and I saw Michael was at the rooftops and knowing that he woke up in the woods, I had a hunch that he could have seen that vision I saw.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," Michael said, scratching his head. "But I do remember seeing some shady guy throw some black gas at me. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."

At that point, I knew that what he saw, and what I saw, was not just a hallucination from the stress of finding Michael at the time. I wanted to further confirm another thing. "Did you see a vision when that...that thing attacked you?"

"Yeah, a nightmare that the city was burning. It felt too real to be a dream."

"That's the exact vision that I saw," I told him. "When I was trying to find you, I saw that figure on top of the rooftop of the Antigen building. I saw that vision of a nuked Budapest and I woke up where I found you."

"Jesus Christ," Michael whispered to himself. "We get frozen twelve years in a world where humans want our heads, then we're seeing fucked up visions from that shadowy guy. This war has definitely escalated, hasn't it?"

I'd hate to admit it, but it is true. Humans have demonstrated great destruction over the years; the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the significance WMDs during the Cold War; I'd hate to see the humans destroy the world to wipe all immortals out. "I hope not to such a scope," I said, dreading that moment.

* * *

_Mathieu's POV_

This forest played a significant role in Reaper's previous mission and it was now playing such a role in ours.

"There was something I failed to mention to you earlier," Reaper said, observing the conversation we overheard between the two. "That Lycan pack at Rosethorn was never seen breaking out from Antigen or escaping from Budapest. Now I know how they were found. They probably were the ones that saw that vision, probably the same one the two Subjects had, and teleported here."

I started to worry more about this location. "D-did you see these visions?"

"Like I said, my memory went blank the further we travelled into the forest," Reaper replied. "Just don't worry about what happened to me then and focus on the two. They're obviously leaving this area anyway."

If I was Reaper, I would never head to this place ever again after hearing that he went through. He, however, was hardly bothered at all. I've known him for most of my career as a SIAF soldier as a calm, direct, and uncompromising soldier. I don't know if under the stoic exterior that he was bottling so much trauma inside, but I felt like something else was going on for him.

After seeing the two immortals leave Rosethorn Trails, I just wanted to leave this damn place and continue keeping the immortals in check.

* * *

_8:20 AM  
Vampire Safehouse  
Eve's POV_

"You've been quiet since you woke up," David told me.

"I'm fine," I said. "My mother has been quite tense, lately. Even after finding Father."

David sat down alongside me. "Your mother is a brave woman," he assured me. "I look up to her more than my own father. She's gone through a lot and I'm sure things will be alright."

"That's the thing, though. I feel like all of her experiences are starting to wear her down," I argued. "I'm sure Mother could take on the toughest immortal in the world. She's stoic, but inside...I just can't imagine what she's going through right now."

A moment later, Mother returned to the safehouse with an unforced smile that she rarely put on. "I want you two to meet a person that I've known for a while," she announced as another person walked behind my mother. He was a man of lengthy, dirty blonde hair, and an athletic build. Although looking somewhat clueless, his blue eyes exactly matched mine. "This is Michael Corvin. And Michael," Mother pointed towards me for my father, "this is your daughter, Eve."

"Dad?" I said quietly towards him. After a brief moment of looking at each other, Michael, my father, walked towards me and placed his left hand on my shoulder.

"That's right," he said to me, smiling, though I could tell that he was nervous seeing his own daughter for the very first time. "If only we had met you a lot sooner," he told me, tearing up. "The things we could have done if your mom and I got captured."

"You don't have to worry," I ensured as I hugged him. "At least you and Mother are here for me right now."

This was a moment that I truly cherished. To see my family get together for the very first time ever created a sense of warmth around one another in an otherwise bleak world where everyone wanted us dead. I knew that the moment would not last forever, but I never felt so happy in my life.

* * *

_Selene's POV_

It was a warm experience seeing Michael again, and it was very much so when our family was finally united. Though the moment was very ephemeral (especially as immortals), it is something that will hold a special place in my heart for a long time, possibly forever.

Even though we only met for a little over a day, Eve's attitude was much brighter than when I had first met her. I could hardly imagine how she, being born and raised as a test subject for twelve years, felt seeing everyone together. Though I know that there will be threats in our way soon, the moment further motivated us to protect Eve and fight this endless war together.

It was odd, but I even felt optimistic to see the war end soon. At the same time, however, I had the feeling that the war would further escalate after seeing such destructive visions last night. We've been through it before; Viktor's attempt to lead us astray, Marcus's goal to dominate the war with William, being separated by the humans for twelve years...Now that we are together with David as an ally, I felt pretty confident.


End file.
